He 20th Century technology time line

What can you do for your country?
Ask what you can do for your country.
The embedded question uses the subject + can + verb word order that is 
normally found in statements.
If the embedded question does not have a question word, it is introduced 
with if.
Can he help his country?
I don’t know if he can help his country.
B.
Common phrases to introduce embedded questions
Do you know. . .?
I don’t know. . .
I’d like to know. . .
Who knows. . .?
Do you have any idea. . .?
I wonder. . .
I’m not sure. . .
The question is. . .
C.
Use embedded questions with can
Rewrite the questions as embedded questions. Note that some of them will be 
statements and some will be questions.
1. How can we win this struggle?
I don’t know _____________________________________________________
2. Can he assure them that they’ll be safe?
I’d like to know___________________________________________________
3. What beneit can we get from this endeavor?
I’m not sure _____________________________________________________
4. Can they see the glow from the ireplace?
I wonder _______________________________________________________
5. Why can’t they form an alliance?
Do you know ____________________________________________________

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The 20th Century | 41
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the speech again. Answer the question.
Kennedy uses “struggle,” “historic effort,” “this responsibility,” and “this 
endeavor” to refer to the same thing. What is he talking about?
FACING TANKS IN NORTH AFRICA
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
World War II ended in 1945 but has survived in the public’s memory and 
imagination because of the countless books and movies that have been written 
about it. This paragraph is from The Rising Tide, by well-known historical 
novelist Jeff Shaara. This part of the book tells the story of soldiers ighting in 
North Africa. In this scene, the characters are facing German tanks.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____ 1. halt 
a. explosive substance
____ 2. tank 
b. a small device that makes a gun ire
____ 3. hatch 
c. stop
____ 4. trigger 
d. very close to the target
____ 5. gunpowder 
e. a small door on a vehicle or ship
____ 6. point-blank 
f. an armored vehicle
C.
Reading strategy
Quickly read the excerpt. Then answer the question.
How many men did he shoot?
______________________________

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42 | Better Reading English
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Mark the sentences T (True) or F (False).
______ 1. The German soldiers came out of their tank.
______ 2. He was shooting a rile.
______ 3. He killed the German soldiers.
______ 4. The enemies were near each other.
______ 5. It was easy to see where to shoot.
______ 6. The men were dancing.
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Understanding from context
Read the phrases. Before you look up words in the dictionary, use the context 
of the sentence to help you match the verbs with the definitions below.
______ 1. He jerked the door open so quickly that he broke the handle.
______ 2. The hill was sandy, so they scrambled up it on hands and knees.
______ 3. The soldier gripped the gun, afraid that he might drop it.
______ 4. The man was hurt—he staggered slowly along the road.
______ 5. The gunshot wounded the man, but it didn’t kill him.
______ 6. The glass shattered when the bullet hit it.
They jerked to a halt, and he could see smoke coming from the German tank, 
waited for the movement, saw it now, the hatch coming open. A think plume of 
black smoke poured up from inside the tank, and the men appeared, 
scrambling out, escaping the burning hulk. His hand gripped the trigger of the 
machine gun, and he watched four men drop to the ground, staggering, 
wounded, blinded by the smoke and the shattering blast that had ripped into 
them. He pulled the trigger, sprayed the machine-gun ire back and forth, all 
four men going down quickly. He paused, took another breath, fought through 
the stink of gunpowder, saw movement beyond, more tanks, streaks of light. 
The ight was all around them, tanks and armored cars, perfect confusion, 
enemies only yards apart, seeking a target in the dust, iring point-blank.
“Move! Ninety degrees starboard! Forward!”
He searched for another target, all four men rising to the battle, all a part 
of the chaos, a desperate dance of men and machine.
Source: The Rising Tide, by Jeff Shaara, New York: Random House, 2006, p. 9.
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.

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The 20th Century | 43
______ 7. He ripped his shirt to make a bandage.
______ 8. They were seeking a way through the enemy line, but they never 
found one.
a. move quickly and awkwardly, often using one’s hands
b. look for
c. hold tightly
d. break into many pieces
e. walk unsteadily, as if going to fall
f. pull suddenly and forcefully
g. tear
h. injure, usually in a way that opens the skin
B.
Use the new words
Complete the sentences with the bold words from Exercise A.
1. The child _________________ his mother’s arm so he wouldn’t fall.
2. The man was so tired that he _________________ down the hallway.
3. The customers who came in the morning were _________________ the best 
deals.
4. He _________________ his pants on the fence.
5. That man _________________ himself with his own knife.
6. When she dropped the plate, it _________________.
7. When they saw the alligator, they _________________ out of the river.
8. He _________________ on the leash to pull the dog out of the road.
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
A.
Read about participial phrases
A participle is a verb form ending in -ed or -ing. Participial phrases are used in 
many different ways in English—they can be subjects of sentences, they can 
modify nouns, and they can modify clauses.
In the passage above, the author uses participial phrases to combine 
clauses. By omitting the verb be and using a participle, he gives the writing a 
more poetic sound. These types of sentences are not common in spoken English.
Look at these comparisons:
the men appeared, scrambling out, escaping the burning hulk = the men 
were scrambling out; they were escaping the burning hulk
he watched four men drop to the ground, staggering, wounded, blinded = 
the men were staggering, wounded, and blinded
enemies only yards apart, seeking a target in the dust, firing point-blank = 
the enemies were seeking a target; they were iring point-blank

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44 | Better Reading English
In these examples, the participial phrase has the same subject as the main 
clause. In the following examples, however, the phrase has a new subject:
He . . . sprayed the machine-gun fire back and forth, all four men going 
down = all four men were going down while he sprayed gun ire
He saw it now, the hatch coming open = the hatch was coming open when 
he saw it
B.
Identify meaning
Rewrite the participial phrases as separate sentences.
1. The soldiers moved around the building, seeking a safe place to enter.
2. The commander shouted orders, knowing his men would quickly obey.
3. The gunire hit the door, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
4. He ran into the room, calling orders as he went.
5. They began the battle, one soldier driving the tank while another used the 
machine gun.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the excerpt again. Answer the questions.
1. At the beginning of the excerpt, why do the Germans come out of their 
tank?
2. Why does he describe the battle as “chaos”?

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